My husband and I just returned from 7 days in Disney World – 47 square miles of pure Magic!
After working day and night for the past 6 years to grow our real estate investing business, it was time to do something just-for-play. With our son and daughter-in-law, we laughed and ate and played for days in the happiest place on earth!
A huge and vital part of the experience for both Jim and me was the powerful motivation, effort and influence of just one man, Walt Disney. His values, standards and integrity are reflected everywhere. And, all over the park were additions going on (magic under construction) as his dreams continue to unfold.
How did it all start? Walt Disney, a man who had been drawing and selling cartoons since the age of 7, used to spend every Saturday with his two children, “daddy’s day”, and decided that there should be a place where parents and children can have fun together. The first “theme park” was created right in his own backyard birthed by his own imagination. But his drive didn’t stop there – his goals were too big to fit into such a small space.
There’s an interesting real estate story for the Florida park. Disney needed to purchase a huge amount of land for his vision and knew that, once he started buying and his intention became public, land prices would skyrocket. To prevent this, he bought up the land through dummy corporations and in trusts so no one knew until he was finished and his plan was announced. Brilliant.
Today, all over Disney World are placards with slogans quoting the famous Disney. Here are some of my favorites:
“All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”
“Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.”
“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” (What is your business doing for others?)
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
“When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.”
“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
Disneyland, Disney World, all of the Disney characters didn’t just happen. They began as an idea and were created out of hard work, determination and a will to succeed in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles (including the Great Depression and World War II). Let Walt Disney’s success motivate you. Choose your dream, believe in it and pursue it with all of your heart and determination.
Get out there and begin doing!
